Summary ⁷

The Western Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma californica), is a species of scrub jay native to western North America. It ranges from southern Washington to central Texas and central Mexico. It comprises three distinct subspecies groups, all of which may be separate species. They are California Scrub Jay (coastal), Woodhouse's Scrub Jay (interior US and northern Mexico), and Sumichrast's Scrub Jay (interior southern Mexico). The Western Scrub Jay was once lumped with the Island Scrub Jay and the

National distribution ⁸

United States

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Diagnostic description ⁹

Gray-breasted (Mexican) jay is grayer, lacks strong contrast between throat and breast, lacks white eyebrow. Pinyon jay is more uniformly blue and has a blue throat with white streaks; scrub-jay's tail is much longer than that of the pinyon jay.

Habitat and ecology ¹⁰

Systems

• Terrestrial

Migration ¹¹

Non-Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species do not make significant seasonal migrations. Juvenile dispersal is not considered a migration.

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Jessica Merz, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://www.flickr.com/photos/94953676@N00/62271214
2. (c) BJ Stacey, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8541/8642462619_2a8d297738_o.jpg
3. (c) Greg Lasley, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Greg Lasley
4. (c) Eric Jacob, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Eric Jacob
5. (c) Liam O'Brien, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Liam O'Brien
6. (c) Ingrid Taylar from San Francisco Bay Area - California, USA, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Western_Scrub_Jay.jpg
7. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphelocoma_californica
8. (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28846719
9. (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28846721
10. (c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/30938132
11. (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28846724

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• VertNet
• Xeno-canto

Range Map

(c) Discover Life and original sources, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC-SA)

iNat Map